An intellectual history of American conservativism since the New Deal. The New Deal fundamentally changed the institutions of American constitutional government and, in turn, the relationship of Americans to their government. Johnathan O'Neill's Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal examines how various types of conservative thinkers responded to this significant turning point in the second half of the twentieth century. O'Neill identifies four fundamental transformations engendered by the New Deal: the rise of the administrative state, the erosion of federalism, the ascendance of the modern presidency, and the development of modern judicial review. He then considers how various schools of conservative thought (traditionalists, neoconservatives, libertarians, Straussians) responded to these major changes in American politics and culture. Conservatives frequently argued among themselves, and their responses to the New Deal ranged from adaptation to condemnation to political mobilization. Ultimately, the New Deal pulled American governance and society permanently leftward. Although some of the New Deal's liberal gains have been eroded, a true conservative counterrevolution was never, O'Neill argues, a realistic possibility. He concludes with a plea for conservative thinkers to seriously reconsider the role of Congress-a body that is relatively ignored by conservative intellectuals in favor of the courts and the presidency-in America's constitutional order. Conservative Thought and American Constitutionalism since the New Deal explores the scope and significance of conservative constitutional analysis amid the broader field of American political thought.
Johnathan O'Neill (STATESBORO, GA) is a professor of history at Georgia Southern University. He is the author of Originalism in American Law and Politics: A Constitutional History.
Acknowledgments Introduction: Varieties of American Conservatism after the New Deal Part I. The Administrative State: An Overview Chapter 1. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, Libertarians, and the Administrative State Chapter 2. Straussians, the Administrative State, and the Rise of the Unitary Executive, Part 1 Part II. The Erosion of Federalism: An Overview Chapter 3. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, and the Erosion of Federalism Chapter 4. Libertarians and the Erosion of Federalism Chapter 5. Straussians and the Erosion of Federalism Part III. The Modern Presidency: An Overview Chapter 6. Traditionalists, the Modern Presidency, and the Rise of the Unitary Executive, Part 2 Chapter 7. Straussians, Neoconservatives, Libertarians, and the Modern Presidency Part IV. Modern Judicial Review: An Overview Chapter 8. Traditionalists, Neoconservatives, and Modern Judicial Review Chapter 9. Straussians and Modern Judicial Review Chapter 10. Libertarians and Modern Judicial Review: Toward the Imperative of Litigation Conclusion: Conservatives, Congress, and the Future of American Constitutionalism Notes Index
An intellectual history of American conservativism since the New Deal.
